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Desjardins not scratching pipeline loans after all

Canada’s Desjardins, the largest association of credit unions in North America, has decided to lift a moratorium on loans for energy and pipeline projects, noting that it will weigh its clients’ environmental, social and governance practices in all future lending decisions.

The Quebec-based financial institution, a backer of Kinder Morgan’s expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline, had been evaluating its pipeline-related policy for months. In July, it put such loans temporarily on hold, threatening the financing of high-profiles projects, including TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL and Energy East and Enbridge’s Line 3.

Currently, the Canadian lender is one of 24 financial institutions that is backing a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada (TSX:KML), majority owned by US-based Kinder Morgan.